Harry came to Trax aged 14 having been expelled from 5 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. He was angry and disruptive in lessons and found it impossible to work in a classroom environment. Since being at Trax he has completed two qualifications in the workshop, learned techniques to manage his anger and will be sitting all his GCSEs in the next few weeks.

He has worked on several Social Enterprise events; at private dinners in people's homes, at The Oxford Town Hall and at large private weddings and birthday functions. This experience for Harry has boosted his confidence, provided him with a great CV and in his own words:

"You guys have made me keep my temper, I dont know how but you have. I like doing the dinner work, it makes me feel important and I like the money. Trax has been better for me than school, I am treated like a grown up and you guys listen to me".

Please help us to continue the great work that we do and to build on the start of a very successful Social Enterprise that has the potential to support many more vulnerable teenagers into employment and further education.

The Charity

Trax Motor Project has now been running for almost 25 years. We work with and support young people aged 8 - 25 in Oxfordshire who have struggled with mainstream education. We fill a gap in Oxford's provision for the most 'hard to reach' young people offering support, training and qualifications to those who need it most.

Our young people access Trax for a variety of reasons; be it social, behavioural or because of learning difficulties and disabilities we make sure that every young person who asks for help, gets it.

We offer a holistic package, offering a mix of practical skills, mentoring, group work, accredited training and real work experience.

The Social Enterprise

Trax set up a Social Enterprise in 2014 to enhance the Charity's delivery by providing a structured business opportunity, employing exclusively vulnerable young people with two main aims:

·Provide an environment for young people to practise their skills, enhance their knowledge and CVs and gain real, paid work experince

·To develop revenue to enable the charity to become self-sufficient

In the first year of trading the SE delivered many catering events including business lunches, large BBQs, and banqueting events. This current year we have now delivered weddings, The County Council Christmas Banquet, The Mock Trials, a 500 guest buffet lunch and the Oxfordshire OCVA Awards.

The vision to enable young vulnerable people to gain theoretical skills and turn those into paid employment in the real world whilst building their CVs and gaining long term employment is now a reality.

How you can help

Trax is now seeking funding to employ a full-time catering manager to continue with the growth of the Social Enterprise and carry the vision into the future. With the additional funding we aim to:

·Move more young people into work and further education - increasing by 50% in year two; increasing students from 16 to 32 per year

·Improve confidence and self-esteem of young people in Oxfordshire and supporting a further 40 students to gain a Level 1 Certificate in Catering and Hospitality

·Increase revenue back into the Charity to further enable Trax to work with approximately 300 young people per year.